W. Alton Jones Campus
Puzzle Busters
Puzzle-Solving Multi-Sport Adventure

Ages 13-16

"A box without hinges, key, or lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is hid."
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit



If you like solving puzzles, then this expedition is for you!  Spend a week cracking codes and puzzles as you find your way along your quest.  Just be sure to bring your sense of adventure and love of reward!  Each evening you will return to Alton Jones for dinner, games, use of the bathhouse facilities, and to sleep at the Poor Farm Base Camp. 



Sunday afternoon is spent checking in, settling into your screen house cabin, getting to know your Puzzle Busters group members and leaders, and taking a swim test at the lake.  After eating a hot meal at the Poor Farm picnic area there will be an all-group orientation to the programs and some group time.  An all-expeditions game is followed by a campfire by the barn and bedtime.



Some days you will leave the Alton Jones property for part of your adventures, traveling by 15-passenger van to find the solution to your puzzle.  But each evening you will return to Alton Jones for dinner, games, use of the bathhouse facilities, and to sleep.  Your group will stay in two screen house cabins, one for boys and one for girls, with bunk beds and a nearby bathhouse with showers and flush toilets.  Some meals will be eaten at the camp dining hall and some will be prepared by your group.  



In preparing for your week, you may want to spend some time thinking about why you chose Puzzle Busters and what you hope to learn from your experience. Everyone is expected to do their best, participate fully, encourage each other, and help out with chores on a rotating basis such as cooking and cleaning up.  If you have never done some of the activities, relax.  Experience is not a requirement, but a positive attitude and a willingness to have fun while learning is!



Of course we can't tell you everything that will happen during your week or it would spoil the puzzles, but here are some hints.  Maybe a clue will lead you to the Rhode Island coast for a sea kayaking adventure.  Or maybe you will end up dangling over a cliff to read your next clue while your group cheers you on.  Whatever the mystery and wherever the adventure leads, you will find yourself having a grand time!  So bring your sense of outdoor adventure, come with an open mind, and get ready for a week of rock climbing, kayaking, swimming, games, and much more.  

Oh, and in case you had trouble figuring it out, the answer to the riddle is an egg.